When car alarm systems go wonky....

Thursday morning my car was a bit sluggish on start-up. Driving to work I realized it was probably about time for a new battery. It's been about three years since the last battery, but I thought I'd put in a four year batter. However, it was a rough winter, so who knows. Left work, still sluggish. So, I added a trip to Sears for a new battery the next day - a day off so I could enjoy a four day Labor Day weekend and hunker down and organize my spare room.

I decided I'd still go to the gym. Still sluggish on start up, but I figured I could make it till the next day with the battery. Good workout. The craziness started when I went to leave the gym. The car started, but things clicked and dash lights flashed. Unsettling, but it stopped after a couple of minutes, so I headed out. Got part way down the road and the horn starts honking. Like in HONKING. Scared me to death. I pulled over. It stopped. So, I continued on. Thank heavens it's a short drive because the horn honked intermittently in three to four beep staccato rhythm all the way home, royally startling me every time it did. I realized I would not be going to Sears but to the dealer.

Fortunately, a friend offered to follow me to the dealership and pick me up. We had plans anyway, so we just altered them a bit. Well, the car wouldn't start. The horn was still beeping/blaring randomly and then the car simply wouldn't start. Made this horrible grinding noise as well. Obviously, it was going to have to be towed to the dealer. Fortunately, my friend waited with me.

I'd moved my auto service to my cell phone carrier. Kudos to them. They were friendly and efficient. I chose the service that could get here in 30 minutes. Took them a tad longer, but within an hour or so of calling, my car was at the dealer. They even followed up to make sure the two operator had arrived and all was well. Very satisfied with the service.

Curious as to what was going on? Well, apparently my "after market" security system had shorted out and drained my car battery. The dealer couldn't even start it with a jump box; it had gone into anti-theft mode. Good to know it works, but not quite as I expected. I also hadn't realized that the dealer I bought the car from had installed the security system and not the factory. I'll ask next time.

So, now I'm without an alarm system. I miss the little beeps when I lock and unlock the car, but at least it starts now. It wasn't exactly a cheap fix, but the dealer also found a couple of lights that were out and replaced those, along with a new battery.

Exploding soda cans, alarm systems, and a stressed out kitty....

Well, last night my goal was to get to bed early so I could get to work early because the builder had arranged for warranty work to be done on my house this afternoon. Not to be. Right before bed, I decided to put a few more sodas in the refrigerator so they'd be cold for this afternoon. I dropped one, which is not an out of the ordinary thing. Well, it blew up. And, it set off my alarm system. I have a unit which is supposed to detect shattering glass (most alarms don't detect a broken window, just a window being raised or a door opening). Apparently, mine also detects exploding soda cans. It's a new system and is just a high pitched wail. It's awful. After I recovered from my heart attack, I looked for the cat. She was under the bed and there she stayed for quite a while.

I have a walk-in pantry and that's where I dropped the can. There was still soda in the can, so less that 12 oz got splattered. It was EVERYWHERE. I was amazed at all the places I had to clean soda up from. Thank goodness for the Swiffer mops... at least the floor isn't sticky. But, I didn't get to bed early. Kitty cat did eventually come out from under bed.

Today wasn't much better. One of the warranty jobs was someone to look at my AC unit. I'm not sure it's working up to par because it just stays kind of muggy in the house. Plus, in the master bedroom the noise is awful... this loud, grinding sound like something is going to burst through the wall any minute. All appointments were made for after 3:00 pm. Alas, the AC guy showed up at 11:55 am. I wasn't home. So, now I get to repeat this tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll both be here at the same time.

The other warranty work went okay, but while I have guys in the house with drills and hammers and blowers for texturizing the wall (short story - they forgot to sheet rock and finish the bottom of the window above the door), the yard guys showed up. It wasn't quiet by any means. Kitty was again under the bed. She didn't come out until she was good and sure everyone was gone.

The last warranty work had to do with my door knobs. Sounds weird and I felt like an idiot saying these door knobs feel "loose." (I did get second opinions before doing this). End result - the front door knob was installed wrong. It's been fixed. Three others actually have defects and will be replaced. It's nice to be validated.